The Cassini probe has transmitted to Earth the latest videos and photographs of geysers at the south pole of Enceladus, spewing streams of liquid and warm water into space, according to NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Recent photographs of the Enceladus geysers taken by the Cassini probe / NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute
The Cassini probe, which has been studying Saturn and its moons since 2005, has devoted a significant portion of its time to Enceladus, one of the most interesting and mysterious moons of the giant planet. Almost immediately after the arrival of the "Lord of the Rings" system, the NASA probe discovered hints of the existence of geysers on the surface of this icy moon, forcing scientists to look for other traces of liquid water in its bowels and on its surface.
Over the next 12 years, "Cassini" proved that under the ice crust of Enceladus is a gigantic subglacial ocean filled with relatively warm and fresh water, in which, in principle, there could be life powered by hydrogen. Today, scientists are seriously considering Saturn's moon as a prime candidate for the first refuge of extraterrestrial life, and are urging NASA and other space agencies to send a new mission to Saturn.
The life of "Cassini" will end very soon - a week ago, he began the last, 22 orbit around Saturn as part of the last stage of the mission, called the "Final of the Opera". Four days later, on September 15 of this year, the NASA probe will enter the dense layers of Saturn's atmosphere and burn up, transmitting information about the structure of its "interior" to Earth.
The veteran probe, according to NASA, last "looked back" at Enceladus and received photographs of the moon of Saturn and its geysers, throwing water to a height of several tens of kilometers and allowing it to enter space. These geysers originate in a special region at the south pole of Enceladus, in the so-called "tiger stripes" - a set of cracks discovered by Cassini in the early days of its work in orbit of the "Lord of the Rings".
The latest photographs and video footage of these emissions were obtained on August 28, during one of the last flights of the Cassini through the gap between the rings and Saturn's atmosphere. At the time, the probe was approximately 1.1 million kilometers from a potentially habitable moon, allowing us to see both the geysers and Enceladus as a whole.